I still vividly remember that summer morning, waking up to the warm August breeze and the faint scent of my mother frying bacon in the kitchen. The day had started off similar to every other day that summer, waking up around noon, devouring my mother's breakfast, then sneaking off into the living room to watch my favorite cartoons. After a few episodes of Spongebob Squarepants, I felt a strong desire to get out of the house, so I decided to join my brother outside for a game of basketball. It was only a few minutes into the game when my mother came outside with a melancholy look on her face, claiming that we needed to have a talk. Anxiously, I began to walk inside the house as my mind raced, trying to figure out what could possibly be wrong. Is someone that I love sick? Did my great grandmother pass away? Or could my mother just be pretending that she has bad news, but is actually going to surprise me with a trip to Disneyland?

My brother and I slowly made our way to the dining room table where our Mother, Father, and Uncle Rob were patiently waiting. My mother was still wearing that serious yet unfamiliar face, while my father couldn’t even pick up his head to make eye contact with me. To no one’s surprise, I took a seat next to my best friend, Uncle Rob, knowing that he would be there to comfort me if we received unpleasant news. As I impatiently fidgeted at the table, my mother eventually uttered the words that I knew were going to change my life: “Your Father has decided that he wants to divorce me and move out of the house.” At that moment, I had lost all touch with reality. After hearing this, everything else that was said to me had turned into mumbles, as my mind was too focused on grasping the news that I was just told.  I couldn’t comprehend what had encouraged my father to want to leave us, and like most children, my first instinct was to blame myself for not being good enough.

It all happened so fast. One day, I was living my normal life with my family all together in one piece, and the next, everything was shattered. The next few weeks were extremely difficult for me, the house constantly felt empty and alone. The worst feeling of all was seeing my mother hurting, and knowing there was only so much that I could do to help comfort her. As time went on, however, things began to get easier. I realized that my house had felt peaceful for the first time in years. There was no more arguing over pointless disagreements, and the constant tension that was always lingering throughout my household had finally vanished. Although visiting my father in his new house felt strange and unfamiliar, it seemed as if the distance had made our relationship stronger. We now made more of an effort to see each other, and we began to actually cherish our time spent together. What brought me the most joy of all was seeing my mom show her beautiful smile once again after months of sadness. Though the journey was tough, I had finally felt happiness once again. I eventually learned that the situations that cause us the most distress, may sometimes end in a positive outcome for everyone.